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AdminHistory

SSF originated in the work of the Reverend Douglas Downes (Brother Douglas) and his associates in the context of the post-World War I depression. Their ministry on the roads shared the life of the itinerant men and boys ('wayfarers') seeking work. In 1921, a landowner offered a Dorset farm as a base for the work, which became Hilfield Friary. SSF was formed in the 1930s by uniting groups in the Franciscan tradition including the Brotherhood of St Francis of Assisi (BSFA). Another important figure was Father Algy Robertson, who was closely associated with Christa Seva Sangha (CSS), a Franciscan community founded at Poona [Pune], India, c.1920. This generated an English branch, the Brotherhood of Love of Christ (BLC) at St. Ives, Huntingdonshire. CSS in India also evolved a successor body, the Christa Prema Seva Sangha (CPSS).

The Brotherhood of the Holy Cross (BHC) remained apart when the Society of St Francis was formed in 1937, although it retained an association with SSF. However, it did not long survive the death of its founder George Potter (d. 1960); three of its surviving members joined the Society of St Francis in 1963.

See also: 'This Poor Sort: History of the European Province of the Society of St. Francis' by Peta Dunstan (1997) [LPL H5193.2F7].